How to use air travel to meet influential people and boost your career, according to a tech exec who was once a flight attendant

A meeting with a Microsoft exec on a flight forever changed his career and his life.

That meeting led to a job at Microsoft which led to a career in tech.

He's now an executive who flies first-class and he's mastered the art of turning an airplane trip into a way to meet influential people.

Ryan Bonnici spends about 60% of his time traveling as the CMO of startup G2 Crowd, he tells Business Insider. He has a fabulous, high-paying career in tech and it all happened because of a chance encounter with a Microsoft exec on a flight when he was a kid in college working as a flight attendant.

That meeting, plus his years as a flight attendant along with his current lifestyle which has him flying all over the world, has given Bonnici a unique view about business trips.

For him, airplane trips are not something to be endured while traveling to the important business meeting. They're also not to be dedicated to head-down work on the computer. They are an incredible resource for meeting powerful people that could, in one fell swoop, help you advance your career.

Bonnici knows this first hand. He became a flight attendant for Qantas when he was 19, putting his business degree on the part-time back burner so he could travel the world.

One day, a senior executive from Microsoft came aboard his flight. They talked, hit it off and she encouraged him to apply to a marketing leadership program at Microsoft and gave him tips on how to get through a grueling application process that involved beating out thousands of applicants. Low and behold, he was one of about 9 people to get the job.

He's been climbing the tech career ladder ever since: ExactTarget, Salesforce, HubSpot, and now he's an executive — the chief marketing officer — at G2 Crowd, a fast-growing startup that helps business find and rate software suppliers. (G2 Crowd was one of Business Insider's 51 enterprise startups to bet your career on in 2018).

Since his chance encounter with the Microsoft exec, Bonnici has learned to always treat every flight as an opportunity for business networking. Over the years, he's met clients on airplanes that brought in millions of dollars of business, founded partnerships, and even discovered a career coach.

"I've learned a few tactics obviously," he said. Here are his top pro tips:

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You don't have to fly business class to use these tips. "I fly all classes," he says.

But do try and travel first-class or business class as much as possible, as it will increase your odds of meeting business execs and others who can become valuable contacts. "If someone is traveling up there, they are more likely successful."

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If you must fly coach, book a seat as close to the front of the plane as possible. That's where frequent flyers — which tend to be business people — often fly when they get bumped from their first-class upgrade. Booking early helps you obtain those up-front seats.

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You can, and should, also use the lounge or waiting area before the flight to meet people before the flight.

Do not rush to be the first person to get onboard. Try to be among the later people to board.

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The most critical tip is to say something immediately to the other person as you grab your seat. "The moment I sit down in the lounge or in my seat — I always make sure I’m getting on later when other people are seated — I sit down and immediately engage in conversation. If you don’t engage with them immediately and you've been sitting quiet for a while, then it feels forced to talk to them later," Bonnici says.

It's also a unique time in the flight, when they can't have their laptops open, and they don't have their headphones in watching a movie.

"I might ask whether a water bottle is mine or theirs, or even if they are traveling for business or pleasure," he says.

Other conversation starters include, "Is it ok to put my bag here?" referring to overhead space, giving the person a chance to be friendly and say "yes." And then I sit down and say "My name's Ryan."

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Say yes to the middle seat. It gives you two chances to meet people.

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"A middle seat can be great," Bonnici says. An aisle seat is second choice, as you can also meet the person across the aisle from you. "You can chat with someone next to you and get more space."

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Don't be a bore. You want to engage them not talk at them. "A lot of people don’t know the art of good conversation. I’m not sitting down and telling them about myself, I’m asking them about themselves."

Be sensitive to signals indicating they don't want to talk. "You can tell pretty quickly by asking them if they are traveling for work or for pleasure if they want to engage."

Once the initial connection is made, a real conversation can happen later in the flight. The meal service may be a good time to chat. "It's always quite an ordeal," Bonnici says. On long international flights, there's time to converse in between stretches of not talking, where you both are reading, working, watching a movie, dozing, etc.

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Conversations on planes has led Bonnici to bring in multi-million sales deals, given him the chance to pick the brains of executives at higher career levels, meet famous people, network with other CMOs, and to simply have "Lots of fascinating with conversations."

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Bonnici even met his executive coach on a flight who is helping him take his career to even new heights.

"My executive coach, who I speak with every week, I met her on a flight between Singapore and London. She's the one that generated business on that flight," he said.